US to help Amazon nations fight illicit finance, Yellen says

The US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen takes part in a meeting with Brazil´s Environment and Climate Change minister, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), and ministers of economy of Amazonian countries, celebrating the first year of the implementation of the Amazonia Forever program in Belem, Para State, Brazil on July 27, 2024. (Photo by THIAGO GOMES / AFP)

The United States is launching a new initiative to help South American nations disrupt illicit activities that harm the Amazon rainforest, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen announced Saturday in Brazil.

“Across the Amazon, criminal organizations and individuals are motivated by the potential for financial gain to illegally harvest plants, minerals and wildlife,” Yellen said in Belem, a city in northern Brazil surrounded by swaths of dense jungle.

She said these “nature crimes” generate hundreds of billions of dollars each year and “often entail misusing and abusing the US financial system.”

Under the initiative, the US Treasury will boost coordination efforts by hosting “follow the money” trainings for partner nations, enhancing information sharing and supporting joint investigation, Yellen said.

The project will coordinate efforts among the United States, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru and Suriname.

“We will also consider other enforcement actions, including sanctions if appropriate, to hold illicit actors accountable and disrupt their activities,” Yellen said in Belem.

The capital city of Para state is set to host the COP30 climate conference in 2025.

The Amazon, the world’s biggest rainforest, covers nearly 40 percent of South America.

In the last century, it has lost about 20 percent of its area to deforestation, due to the advance of agriculture and cattle ranching, logging, mining and urban sprawl.